


Slushie Comforts

by Phoenexus



Category: Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: 7/11 oasis, Aftermath of musical, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Friendship, Bad Relationship, Coca-cola slushies, F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mutated Hairstyles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 16:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10575186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenexus/pseuds/Phoenexus
Summary: “You look like a monkey who’s been strategically shaved.”Veronica is hardly over the events this senior year. She's tired and she goes to the only place she knows will distract her in some way. Just when she thinks she's been left by herself to peacefully grieve, Heather Duke saunters in.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for a dear friend of mine on tumblr, @thatcatoveryonder, who suggested I use the prompt “You look like a monkey who’s been strategically shaved" with a character I loved and a character I hated in the same story. The first two that popped into my head happened to be Heather Duke and Veronica, an unlikely pair.
> 
> So enjoy this slightly older short story about grief and suicide and getting over an unhealthy relationship.

It was a soft summer evening. The kind with golden hues and dancing rays upon the sidewalks down the street. The sky was clear, bright blue with a glowing yellow orb up there shining down.

Couples and groups walked together about the town and sidewalks hand in hand with lovely, positive conversation. Walking alone with her headphones in and her shoulders hunched forwards, there was Veronica.

With her blue sweater underneath her leather jacket she had covered her hands and had folded her arms against her chest. Her eyes were down towards the ground at her grey converse, dirty due to walking through the park off road to quickly reached her destination just beyond the school. She avoided the brightness by sinking lower as if she was a dark blue cloud rebelling against the sun. Her eyes were darkened by dark circles and…was that eyeliner on?

She looked up from the sidewalk as she felt the familiar glow of a sign. There it was, that familiar paradise. She opened the door and walked into the 7-11. Her eyes flickered towards the slushies and she walked forwards.

Blue Rasberry had always been her favorite, but she found herself drawn to Coca-cola instead. So she found the smallest cup and filled it to the top. She carried her drink to the cashier and paid her small amount of money to the cashier.

“Thanks,” She mumbled as she dropped the extra coins into the tip jar. She carried the drink outside, opening the door with her back and slipping outside with the straw in her mouth.

It was nice.

Freezing.

She felt her head grow cold as she collapsed into a bench, her eyes once more fixated on the ground at her shoes. Her legs rocked back and forth, barely scraping the sidewalk below her. She hummed a little song under her breath between sips. As she rubbed her eyes from exhaustion, she noticed how watery they really were. With one sleeve, she wiped the evidence of emotion away.

Her eyes fell to the scrunchie on her wrist suddenly and glared. Fuckin’ thing, she thought and instantly looked up away from it to the clear skies of a lovely spring day. Her mind cleared as she took another gulp of her drink.

“Hi,” a hollow voice suddenly broke Veronica’s thoughts. She looked up.

“Hello,” Veronica replied to Heather Duke’s greeting.

H. Duke looked disheveled, tattered and different. The typical green crop top and ripped jeans gave off her usual “fuck off” attitude. She was cracking a piece of bubble gum and blowing small bubbles between dark red lips. But the oddest and newest addition was a grey beanie pulled over her hair.

“Like the hat,” Veronica attempted to make conversation, to be polite. H. Duke narrowed her eyes, taking offense. However, before she ranted off a rude comment as usual, she sat next to Veronica with a tired groan.

Silence followed as H. Duke looked at her nails, painted harsh charcoal. Veronica just simply looked at the sky and continued to gulp down her drink. She didn’t know where to look and if she should break the silence, if she should say something or make a comment about the hair, which looked different… Not to mention the fact that they were outside of a 7-11 and those shady, regretful memories were beginning to resurface.

“Veronica,” H. Duke began to say. “Look, I know we don’t get along.” Veronica looked over at H. Duke, who wouldn’t look at Veronica as she spoke.

“I was a bitch. Hell, I’m still a bitch. But…” H. Duke gazed down at her nails. “You’ve changed, everything’s changed since Heather died.” She was blunt and stared at Veronica after this. Veronica felt another pang and found herself taking another sip of the drink.

“Could I get advice, or at least a sip of that drink?” H. Duke pointed to the drink.

“Why?” Veronica was hesitant, reasonable. “You’re right, you have been a bitch. Why do you need advice or help from, me. Of all people. Why not Heather McNamara, you’ve been friends longer.”

“Because she’s not here right now,” H. Duke said gruffly, ignoring certain facts with shifty eyes. “You are.” She shifted her beanie uncomfortably. With a sigh after a moment, she simply took it off.

“Oh, wow,” Veronica could only say. “You look like a monkey who’s been strategically shaved.” H. Duke held up a finger to Veronica and put back her beanie with a reddening face.

"Thanks buddy,” H. Duke snapped as she fixed her beanie. “Now hand me that drink.”

Veronica obeyed and H. Duke took a big gulp, almost finishing the drink. She looked down at the amount left and shifted her tone. “Hey I’ll buy you another one if you let me finish this.”

“No,” Veronica suddenly stood up, looking H. Duke into the eyes. “I don’t need another one. Now if you excuse me, I’m going to leave now.” She began to turn away, but found H. Duke turning her back around with a tap at her shoulder.

“Veronica,” H. Duke said, fitting the beanie to hide her patchy hair. “I just want your sympathy. I made a mistake…”

“How did that even happen?”

“I wanted to try a new hairstyle,” H. Duke explained as the two of them walked together. “I wanted to move on from this year and change everything up. Hell, I might even get rid of the green.” She looked down at her shirt.

“Maybe go with a soft pink or grey or possibly orange.” H. Duke cracked a smile. “Imagine me in orange!” She gave out a small, uncharacteristic laugh and looked to Veronica.

“What’s wrong?” H. Duke asked harshly. Veronica stared blankly ahead, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. Her hand went to her mouth and she crashed down on the sidewalk to her knees, suddenly sobbing uncontrollably.

H. Duke, not one to comfort, stood above awkwardly. She then crouched beside Veronica with a hand on her back. H. Duke offered a hand to help Veronica up, who took it hesitantly. She whipped her eyes with the back of her other hand.

“Thanks…” Veronica mentioned uncomfortably. H. Duke stared at her with a mix of confusion and disgust. Veronica shrunk back into herself, tears still in her eyes.

“How can you still miss him?”

Veronica opened her mouth to deny, but H. Duke continued. “Fuck J.D.” At the mention of his name, Veronica’s eyes went to the ground. “That’s why you’re crying isn’t it, right?”

She paused and her tone was softer, but still blunt. “I may not know much about your relationship with him, but he was dangerous. After all, he was a suicide case.” Veronica sucked in her breath. “He only hurt you. Look at you!” She motioned to Veronica, who looked up. “You’re wearing his jacket in this heat! You’re drinking crappy slushies like every other day and you aren’t doing anything fun or social besides occasional movies with Martha Dump-” She paused. “Martha Dunnstock.” She sighed and held a hand to her head.

“Look,” H. Duke said as she looked into Veronica’s narrowed eyes. “I don’t hate you, but I don’t particularly like you that much. I do however find it weird that you care so much about this boy that clearly was terrible to you. You need to move on.”

“You don’t know the relationship we had!” Veronica suddenly shouted in an outburst. “He was-he was-he was!”

Pause.

“He was incredible.” She fell back into a saddened state with her eyes on the ground, her voice dropped and her arms crossed across her chest.

“When we weren’t talking of…darker things. He was kind to me. He cared about me and I cared about him. Hell, I lost my virginity to him and he was the first person who I felt actually understood me. In a fucked up way, I was looking at, myself when I looked at him. If it weren’t for…” She cracked and then continued. “Maybe he’d still be here and we’d be together, but…” She looked at H. Duke who had also folded her arms.

“You don’t need to explain, but I think you need to move on.” H. Duke pointed out. “Tell you what. If you fix my hair issue, I’ll help you get over J.D.”

Veronica began to protest, but H. Duke was there with a hand held up. “I don’t give a fuck about your protests. Is it a deal?” She cracked the gum she was chewing. A pause followed with only gum smacking to be heard.

With a deep breath Veronica spoke.

“Alright.”


End file.
